You're Too Late, Indigo
by ShoeGoil
Summary: A wierd dream haunts Indigo. Written for the Battery Park LH A Day in the Life contest. Includes guest apperances by Skittery, Livia, and Locket.


**Author's Note: ** Written for the 'day in a life' ff contest for Batter Park Lodging House. Indigo is my character, Livia is Morning Glory's character, Locket is Locket's character, and Skittery is Disney's….though I've done some more characterizing on him than they did. This story is a bit of an experimentation…I hope it works. haha

**You're Too Late, Indigo**

By ShoeGoil

* * *

Standing on the edge of the dark alley, out of the hustle and bustle of the busy feet of New York City, Indigo's face pointed upwards. The clouds were amazing. Fluffy…no, that wasn't quite the word. Maybe— 

And then he felt a steely grip on his arm yank him backwards. And before he knew what was happening, he felt his smooth cheek smack into the rough brick wall. And as he looked up in confusion and horror, all he could see was a black silhouette preparing a leg to kick him.

"No…" he murmured, but he suddenly felt the warmness of a body in a completely different manner…not violent at all.

"Indigo!"

And Indigo's eyes were opening. He was in the boys' bunkroom of Battery Park…well, the empty boys' bunkroom. Indigo sat up quickly. Where was everyone? What time was it? And who had woken him up?

He felt the lateness of the morning in a shocking wave, so he swung himself off his top bunk and without even heading to the washroom, he raced down the stairs with a hollered good bye to Mr. Henderson. He had never known of the distribution center to run out papers, but there was always a first time…

It was later than he even realized. When he got to the distribution center, there were no other newsies to be seen. He rushed up to the window to buy some newspapers and with a deadening thud in his heart, realized that the window was shut. They were no longer selling.

He felt a twinge of hunger in his stomach even before he comprehended the fact that he might have to go without food today in order to pay for his lodging and still have enough money for buying newspapers tomorrow.

With a sigh, Indigo realized that he had no hope but to find Locket. She'd let him buy some papers off of her. If anyone would be willing to share with a bum like him, it'd be his cousin. The two of them usually sold near the bank so he headed in that direction.

In his search for her, he got to an especially busy part of town, where people were crowding the sidewalks and moving quickly away from the same direction he was heading. Indigo stepped back, toward an edge of a dark alley, to let some of the people pass by. He glanced up at the sky casually, and then with a start, realized that the clouds were not fluffy at all, but rather gray and stricken—

And a firm hand violently grabbed his arm from behind. And he was shoved against the rough wall. And he felt, between the twinges of hunger, the sharp pains of his cheek scraping as he collapsed onto the dirty ground. And he groaned.

"Why—" he started to ask of his perpetrator. But when he looked up, instead of the black silhouette of his dream, he saw Skittery of the Duane Street newsies. He was frowning, but his eyes looked anything but angry. Sad, maybe. Or perhaps confused.

"I didn't do it," Skittery said quickly before Indigo could say anything. "I saw you go down, but I didn't do it."

Indigo closed his eyes, leaning against the brick wall. What was going on?

Skittery helped Indigo back to the Battery Park Lodging House. In all the confusion of being attacked, Indigo had twisted his ankle. And his face was pretty badly scraped. But other than that, it seemed as if he was perfectly fine. Well, except for being hungry.

Indigo glanced up at the clock as they entered the front hallway. It was 2:35. It was even later than he had thought.

"You going to be okay now? You need anything else?"

Indigo looked around the lodging house. "Someone will probably come along to help me, I guess." Then his stomach growled loudly.

"You need food?" Skittery asked.

Indigo nodded slightly. "Yeah, I don't have any though…and I didn't sell today so I don't have enough money to get any."

Skittery frowned slightly, but he said, "I'll be right back."

Indigo sat down on the bench in the hallway, not sure where else to go. Luckily within minutes the door banged open and Indigo looked up, expecting to see Skittery.

Instead it was Olivia. She was a pretty girl, but seemed surly, so Indigo didn't often talk to her.

"What's with you?" she asked now, seeing him sitting there was his leg propped up and his cheek slightly bloody.

"I got soaked, I think," Indigo replied quietly.

"You think? How can you think that? You either did, or you didn't."

Indigo didn't have to answer because the door slammed open again, and this time it was Skittery with a small loaf of bread. Indigo's eyes widened as Skittery handed it over to him.

"It's nice to know you've got other skills besides being a pain in the arse," she said to Skittery. "I didn't know you liked to play waiter."

"The kid was hurt and hungry, so I helped him. Big deal," Skittery said with a shrug. "Everything okay now?" he asked, turning his attention to Indigo.

"No…" he said. The truth was, Indigo didn't want to be left alone with Olivia. But there was something else bothering him, too. "Did you see who knocked me down in the alley?"

Skittery shrugged. "No. It was probably a Delancey or something. They have a bad habit of doing that kind of thing."

"They do not!" Olivia said shrilly. Skittery gave her an annoyed look.

"Well if it wasn't a Delancey, what was it?" Indigo asked, ignoring the angry look Olivia was giving to Skittery. "I had a weird dream this morning, and it seemed to come true in the alley there."

Liv raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah? Maybe it was a ghost." She was smirking slightly, so it was hard for Indigo to tell if she was being serious or not.

Skittery rolled his eyes. "Really. A ghost." He gave Indigo a look. "You got a spirit that might be mad at you?"

Indigo shrugged. "I don't know any spirits," he said honestly.

It was Livia's turn to roll her eyes. "Look, I don't have time for this. I'll see you guys later." She left to go upstairs, calling over her shoulder, "If you realize that it was a ghost, tell him to leave me alone, will ya? I got enough enemies as it is."

Skittery gave Indigo another glance over, and then said, "you seem to be alright. I'm gonna go finish selling my afternoon edition."

Indigo nodded dumbly, not sure what else to say. He watched Skittery leave, and then continued to sit there, wondering when someone else might come in to the Lodging House. He vaguely wished he had a book or something to read, before he noticed a book next to him on the bench.

"_A Christmas Carol_ by Charles Dickens," he read with a roll of his eyes. The last thing he needed was to read a ghost story. He was already feeling a bit on edge as it was. With a shrug, he picked the book up anyway and started to read.

He got engrossed in the novel. Even though he had read it before, he was captivated with the thought of being given a chance to change your life. He didn't realize someone was standing next to him until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He jumped and turned quickly to see Locket. 

"Indigo. Where were you all day?" she asked, before clucking at the realization that his face was all scratched up and his ankle was swollen. "Are you okay?"

Indigo shrugged. "Yeah. I'm fine. I just slept in late, missed selling, and got beat up. Skittery saw me and helped me back here. Then he got me some food. I'm feeling alright now."

Locket's forehead wrinkled. "Skittery did that for you? He doesn't do that kind of thing for anyone."

Indigo shrugged. "He was pretty nice to me. Even ask Livia. She's upstairs."

"Alright. I will," she said. She headed upstairs and Indigo went back to reading his book. A moment later, Livia and Locket came back downstairs.

"Yeah, seriously. I got no idea what he's talking about," Livia said. She looked at Indigo with a wrinkled nose. "Indigo, you were sitting here alone when I got home, reading that book, your ankle all swollen."

"But then Skittery came in after you," Indigo protested.

Liv sighed slightly. "Nah, I wish that was true. The bum got in a fight yesterday. I just got back from the Duane Street Lodging House, bringing him some food. Hey, I hate the guy, but he's one of my best friends. And I'm gonna take care of him if he can't take care of himself for awhile."

A tremor of fear raced through Indigo's body as he looked down at the half-eaten roll. The roll that Skittery had given him. He looked back up at Livia.

"But he was here! Remember, the three of us had talked about who had mysteriously beat me up? And you got mad because he suggested it was a Delancey."

Locket looked at Olivia expectantly, but Olivia just shrugged her shoulders. "You're delusional, kid. Either that, or you're being haunted. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to meet someone at the Brick."

She left the lodging house with a slam of the door. Indigo frowned at Locket. "Maybe you just need some rest?" she suggested with a pitying smile. "Anyway, today was a good day for you to not sell. This afternoon there was a bank robbery over where you and I usually sell. Two people were shot as the robbers escaped. I'm glad I had been selling with Peri today at central park instead."

Indigo frowned, looking down at the roll again. He felt a wave of confusion as he considered the conicidence of the armed robbery and their lucky absence from that area of town. "Um…I think I do need some rest," he murmured. "This has been a very weird day."

"Come on," Locket said, giving him her arm. "I'll help you upstairs."

"Alright. Hey, Locket? Do you believe in spirits?"

She laughed. "No. Not really. Do you?"

"Um… I don't think so," he lied. "Do you believe everything Livia says?"

Locket laughed again. "Not a chance."

He settled down into his top bunk after Locket left him alone. But he couldn't forget the cold grip on his arm or escape how warm and real Skittery's eyes had looked when he had handed him the bread. Things weren't adding up. As the sun began to set, the shadows that loomed across the bunkroom kept Indigo on edge. It was hours before he could fall asleep.


End file.
